Thank you for your great post. @lookingforward
Last night however, I was wondering, does a gap year ever make financial sense? Like I have other reasons to want to take a gap year, but if it makes financial sense than I would consider it even more. What I mean by financial sense is lowering the amount of future debt I might have. Like I can get a job and earn money or somehow earn education credits that I can use towards the cost of school.
If you earn and save money during your gap year, it can push up your FAFSA EFC and result in reduced need-based financial aid during future years. So not particularly helpful for need based aid.
Since you got into Oregon Honors you already have a terrific ‘merit’ opportunity.
You can get education credits - those are called AP and CLEP, they don’t require a gap year.
Wait till you have your FA package from Michigan.
If you put money in the bank, you will get less financial aid. Your grants will be reduced, but you’ll still have loans.
Let me ask you this: Why would you want to go to Villanova instead of University of Oregon? What advantage do you think Villanova would confer? I think that going to Villanova or Michigan is a form of consumption, like buying an Acura instead of a Honda Accord. The Accord will get you to all the same places as the Acura. But you only buy the Acura, the luxury version of the Honda, if you can afford it.
I just read in the Washington Post today that more than half the students at the University of Oregon are from out of state. Scroll to the bottom of the article, where it gives the statistics for every state flagship.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2018/03/29/flagships-go-national-at-u-michigan-nearly-half-of-students-now-from-out-of-state/?utm_term=.bb6241a37628
Assume for a second that we have no inflation over 5 years. If you took a gap year, you would not earn the salary you would have earned in year 5 as a professional (because you would still be a senior in college), and the compounded raises over your lifetime would be 1 year less. You would however earn the salary for a HS student during your gap year (not too much).
If going to the better school was going to be worth it, this difference is very costly, probably more than you would earn during your gap year, and thus you are better off going to school next year.
Villanova is a great school. I don’t think it is worth 80,000 in debt especially compared to the honors college offer you have. Flying back and forth to Philadelphia several times a year is not going to be cheap (thousands?). I do not think Villanova will open any doors that UofO will not open (unless you want to work in Philly when you graduate). Don’t be silly by going out of state just for the sake of going out of state. If you stay at UofO you could study abroad or do a semester at another American university if you want some adventure. That’s my opinion. See of UoM makes a nice offer.